At the visitors tribune: God, our Deputy is good at interrupting!
Original title: At the visitors tribune: God, our Deputy is good at interrupting!, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, April 8, 1869
kurzbeschreibung
Honoré Daumier drew this 1869 lithograph of two men on a visitors' gallery watching a deputy. It belongs to the series 'News of the day' and appeared on April 8, 1869, in the satirical journal Le Charivari. Printed as a lithograph on newsprint, it is the second of two states (Delteil).
Description
Two men sit on the gallery: the left one leans back comfortably, the right one bends forward and underscores his words with a gesture. Behind them a dense crowd presses in, suggesting an assembly or a stadium. Fine hatching models contours and shadows in black and white. Below the image runs the text: 'Dans les tribunes. - Dieu! comme le député de chez nous interrompt bien!'
Context
Daumier made the lithograph for the series 'Actualités', published in Le Charivari. The caricature targets political debates in the French parliament during the Second Empire under Napoleon III. The series commented on daily events and social ills with biting humor. The sheet, dated April 8, 1869, falls in a period of growing political tensions and liberal reforms.
Impact
A clear layout and reduced visual language make the lithograph immediately legible. The figures' gestures bring a lively, almost theatrical dynamic to the scene and sharpen the satirical critique of parliamentarism. That one remains calm while the other reacts excitedly creates a subtle irony.
Technique
Daumier worked in lithography, a planographic process in which a fatty crayon is drawn on stone. It was printed on newsprint, as was customary for publication in Le Charivari. The sheet is the second of two states (Delteil), indicating that the plate was reworked.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)